Live game coverage: Oakland Raiders at Seattle Seahawks (preseason)

Golden Tate catches the ball in front of Oakland's Shawntae Spencer during the first quarter Thursday. The catch was challenged and overturned. (Stephen Brashear/AP Photo)

We’re now under way at CenturyLink Field, where the Seahawks Seahawks are taking on the Oakland Raiders in their fourth and final preseason game. And the competition among Seahawks is just as fierce — if not more so — than the competition against the Raiders.

That’s because there are just 53 roster spots for the Seahawks as they start the regular season, and more players than that on the sidelines Thursday.

The biggest contest, for instance, is among wide receivers. While Seahawks like Doug Baldwin and Sidney Rice are locks for the roster, players like Ricardo Lockette and Ben Obomanu are on the bubble. With one last chance to show their stuff, they’ll be out to convince head coach Pete Carroll they deserve a spot on the 2012 Seattle Seahawks.

Meanwhile, though starting quarterback Russell Wilson takes the field first, Matt Flynn likely gets plenty of playing time to make a case for himself. The former Green Bay backup QB, whom the Seahawks brought in during free agency, was “extremely disappointed” — according to Carroll — that he didn’t win the starting job. As Carroll said, he’ll be champing at the bit to show he’s more than a backup.

Check back throughout the game for updates:

— In Seattle’s first series, Wilson marched the Seahawks downfield with a combined ground and air attack, including a 25-yard toss to Golden Tate down the left sideline. Ruled a catch at Oakland’s 10-yard line, the play was challenged by the Raiders and eventually overturned; video showed Tate’s foot landed out of bounds. That forced fourth down for the Seahawks at the 35 yard line. Kicker Steven Hauschka attempted a 53-yard field goal, but the ball fell short of the uprights. Turnover on downs, game still scoreless.

— The Seahawks take a 3-0 lead with 1:05 left in the first quarter on a Hauschka field goal from the red zone. It came at the tail end of an odd drive for Seattle. Having gone three-and-out, Seattle had Jon Ryan punt to Oakland downfield — and the return was fumbled and recovered by Seattle. With new life at the Oakland 38-yard line, the Seahawks were in good position to get the first touchdown of the game, but a holding penalty and a dropped pass from Wilson kept Seattle out of the endzone.

— The Seahawks lead 3-0 at the end of the first quarter. Time of possession after one quarter: Seattle 7:59, Oakland 7:01. The Seahawks had 88 total yards on 17 offensive plays — 16 yards on the ground and 72 yards through the air. Seattle held the Raiders, meanwhile, to just 23 total yards: 19 rushing and 4 passing.

— Flynn comes in for Seattle’s first play of the second quarter.

— It’s been a game of challenges, so far. The third coach challenge of the game, already, came with 13:06 left in the second quarter, when Oakland fumbled another punt from the Seahawks. The ball was ruled out of bounds before the Seahawks gained control on the fumble, and while Carroll challenged, the ruling was confirmed: Oakland ball at the 20-yard line.

— Seahawks cornerback Jeremy Lane gets the first interception of the game as Oakland quarterback Matt Leinart overthrows his receiver. Lane returns it 31 yards to the Oakland 10-yard line, but he is ruled down after official review at the 39-yard line. That made it a 2-yard return instead of a 31-yard return.

— Flynn is able to get the ball to the Oakland 6-yard line and Hauschka gets another chance for a field goal. It’s good and the Seahawks take a 6-0 lead with 9:32 left in the second quarter.

— Seahawks take a 13-0 lead with 1:11 left in the second quarter after an 11-play, 78-yard drive. Flynn and running back Vai Taua made it look almost effortless. Taua took it across the goal line on a 2-yard rushing play.

— Here are the stats at halftime. The Seahawks have 202 total yards, including 126 passing and 76 rushing. Meanwhile, the Raiders have just 49 total yards, 13 in the air and 36 on the ground. Seattle’s defense has been suffocating — Oakland had just three first downs, while Seattle had 12 first downs in the first half. Leinart had just 14 yards on three completions in 11 attempts. The Seahawks had possession for 19:17 while the Raiders had the ball for 10:43.

Meanwhile, Flynn has completed 6 of 7 passing attempts for 54 yards. At the half, Wilson was still leading with 72 yards, though he was 5-for-11. Taua was leading all rushers with 48 yards on eight attempts. Running back Kregg Lumpkin had 19 yards on five attempts and Robert Turbin had 14 yards on four attempts.

Taua also led in receiving yards with 59. Tight end Sean McGrath was next with 24 yards, but he along with all the other receivers had just one reception. Ben Obomanu, who is fighting for a spot on the roster, had two incompletions. Golden Tate, Kellen Winslow, Deon Butler and Braylon Edwards also were 0-for-1 in receiving.

— Flynn once again leads the Seattle charge downfield, as the Seahawks take a 19-0 lead over the Raiders. They sucked up 5:27 on the nine-play, 90-yard drive. Flynn connected with Cooper Helfet for a 4-yard touchdown pass with 4:35 left in the third quarter. But Hauschka’s point-after kick was blocked by Oakland’s Dominique Hamilton.

— Defensive end Bruce Irvin, whom the Seahawks picked in the first round of the draft, is finally making some noise. He got a hit on Oakland quarterback Terrelle Pryor deep in the third quarter, during yet another series in which the Seattle defense forced the Raiders to punt. With 1:27 left in the third quarter, Oakland still had only four first downs and still had just 77 total yards. The Seahawks also had two sacks to Oakland’s zero.

— Seattle quarterback Josh Portis comes in with 1:27 left in the third quarter.

— At the end of the third quarter, the Seahawks had 287 total yards, including 174 passing and 113 rushing. They had 19 first downs to Oakland’s four. Flynn seems to be finished for the night; he ended up with 102 passing yards on the night, completing 11 of 13 and throwing one touchdown.

— With Portis and the third-stringers in, the atmosphere of this game has taken a distinct turn: It seems all but over. Wilson did his first quarter, finishing with 72 passing yards on a 5-for-11 night. Flynn, also, is likely done for the night. Portis will finish out the game for the Seahawks.

— A sack for Irvin with about 9 minutes left in the game. That’s 1.5 sacks for him in the night, so far.

— The Seahawks defense continues to dominate the Raiders, as tackle Jay Howard tackled Oakland’s Mike Goodson in the endzone for a safety. Seattle leads Oakland 21-0 with 8:14 left in the game.

— The Raiders are finally on the board, getting a field goal with just 15 second left in the game on a five-play, 54-yard drive. The Seahawks lead 21-3, which should be our final score.

— Yup, that’s the final score. Seattle beats Oakland 21-3 to finish the preseason undefeated. Stats and more coverage is upcoming.